How to Get a New Passport

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Disclaimer: This guide works best for white girls from Kansas City whose moms are willing to help them out monetarily.

Step one: Move to Spain. Live there for three years, get a Spanish boyfriend, and decide to visit home for Christmas one year. Fly from Madrid to Chicago, and then from Chicago to Kansas City. Have a great week and a half hanging out with family and friends, helping your grandparents move to a retirement home, and wishing it had snowed while you were there.

Step Two: On the morning you are supposed to go back to Spain, your boyfriend jokingly says, “Make sure you have your passport!” as you are loading everything into the car to go to the airport. Think to yourself, “Hey, wait a minute, where IS my passport?” Look through your purse. Look through your backpack. Look through your purse again. Go outside where everyone is waiting and tell them you can’t find your passport. Ensue passport hunt throughout entire house, car, etc. Realize that you forgot a part of step one which is: lose your passport at some point between going through security in Chicago and this moment.

Step Three: Since your boyfriend did not lose his passport and has to work in two days back in Spain, go with him, your mom, and your sister to the airport. Resign yourself to the fact that your passport is missing, come up with theories for where it could be, how it could have been lost, etc. Get to the airport, and ask the woman at the desk what to do. She tells you that there is no way to get to Spain without a passport. She also tells you that there is a passport office in Dallas (the city you were flying out of anyway) where you can get a same day passport if you have the right paperwork. She tells you that if you fly into Dallas early in the morning and fly out in the evening, you should have plenty of time to get a cab into the city, get your new passport, and get back to the airport. You believe her because you have no other option. Just in case, you make the flight for Thursday (it is Monday) so you can hopefully get your passport here in Kansas City and avoid the ordeal in Dallas. She also tells you that you will only be able to check the suitcase through to Dallas, pick it up, and recheck it to Madrid once your have your new passport. Changing the flight only costs 159$, which you are amazed by.

Step Four: See your very nervous, frustrated, guilty-feeling boyfriend (who is afraid he might have your passport in his suitcase even though he looked several times) off, and go back home. Look for your passport a couple more times, just in case. Since it is a holiday and no government offices are open to call and ask, do nothing else about your passport all day except worry. Over the next two days, spend more time with friends and family, and call every number you can think of to try to find out if your passport is somewhere in Chicago. Make an appointment for 11am in the Dallas Passport Agency (your flight from Kansas City is supposed to get there at 9:45am). Call an expedited passport agency in Kansas City. They will tell you that because of the holidays they cannot get you a new passport until next week (you work that Monday), and none of the post offices in Kansas City are able to do expedited passports. Gather your paperwork, and prepare to go through with the Dallas plan.

Step Five: Wake up at 5am Thursday morning. It has snowed a couple of inches during the night. Feel very frustrated that it couldn’t have snowed while your boyfriend was still here, so you could have gone sledding with him. Your mom will shovel the driveway while you make coffee and finish getting ready to go. Get to the airport in plenty of time (the highways will have already been plowed), and check in. Panic for a few minutes when the lady checking you in has to ask her supervisor how to check a suitcase without a passport. Go through security, and get on the plane without any mishap.

Step Six: The plane is supposed to leave at 8am and arrive in Dallas at 9:45am. The plane stays at the gate for a while until the pilot announces that they had to change a light-bulb, and that because they had to change a light-bulb, they were rerouted, and that because they were rerouted, they had to put more fuel in the plane. Silently freak out. The plane finally gets to the runway, then stops again and waits as they take about ten minutes to wash the snow off of the plane. By the time the plane takes off, it is 9am and you have been worrying, freaking out, praying, and panicking for 59 of those minutes. The pilot announces the plane should arrive in Dallas at 10:45am. Considering this is 15 minutes before your appointment, and that it takes 30 minutes to get from the Dallas airport to the passport office, you are not very happy.

Step Seven: On the flight, the man in front of you asks the stewardess if he can move to a row further towards the front, in the hopes that this will allow him to catch his next flight. She says yes. You mull this idea over for a few minutes, then decide that it can’t hurt, and ask the same question. She tells you yes, too, so you get your things and move to the front row, right behind first class. The plane lands at 10:25am, and get off the plane, exit the airport, leave your suitcase behind, and hop into the first taxi you see by 10:33am. You make it to the building by 11:05am, pay the taxi driver, and go up to the office. You wait in the first line to check your papers. You have brought a certified copy of your birth certificate, your old old passport (the one you had before the one you lost), a the application for a new passport, the application to report a lost or stolen passport, your driver’s license, and a copy, a copy of your lost passport, a copy of your social security card (which they don’t need), and proof of travel. You get a number. A111. They are currently serving A109, so you start to panic a little bit less. You wait ten or maybe fifteen minutes before you are called. You turn in your papers, pay 195$, and swear by something that all the information is accurate to the best of your knowledge. The lady tells you that pick up is between 2:30-3:00pm. You ask if you should come back earlier than that. She tells you to be back by 2:00pm.

Step Eight: You go get lunch across the street and try not to let yourself get your expectations up too high. It seems too good to be true that your passport could be ready by 2:30pm. You finish lunch, head back to the office, and wait. At 1:55pm, they call your name and give you your new passport. You check the information, leave, and get a taxi back to the airport. You feel elated that you have managed to get back to the airport a full hour earlier than you thought you would in the best case scenario. It is now 2:45pm. You go to bag claim in Terminal A (where you flew in). There are two bag claim areas. You go to one, then follow a couple who you think are going to the place you need to go to, but realize that they aren’t. You go to security and ask where you should go. They tell you to go to the other bag claim. You do, and they check to see where your bag is. It’s at the first bag claim area that you just left. You go back. You ask where your bag is. The very kind, easy-going southern man tells you that it’s downstairs because the bag claim guys saw that your itinerary was going to Madrid, so they weren’t sure what to do with it. He tells you that he will check your bag through to Madrid for you, so you don’t even need to get it. You feel like this is weird, but you don’t want to argue, and accept it. You get on the terminal link shuttle to go to terminal D, where your next flight is. It is now 3:00pm. Your flight to Madrid is at 5:45pm.

Step Nine: Get to Terminal D and start to check in on the automated check-in machines. Say you are checking a bag. Realize you are not sure what to do with the bag tag since you do not actually have your suitcase with you. Ask the man at the check in counter what to do. He tells you that you have to get your suitcase. Explain what the bag claim guy told you, that he would check it through to Madrid for you. The man tells you that is not possible, that you have to go back to Terminal A, get your suitcase, and then check in. Panic. Panic more. Resign yourself to going back to Terminal A. Get on the shuttle, go back, and find the easy-going bag guy. Try not to explode when he tells you “I wish I had known how to call you! My manager got really mad when I tried to check your bag to Madrid, and she said we had to lock it up here and hope you would come back for it! Boy, I’m really sorry!” Tell him it’s fine, even though it really isn’t. Thank him for getting your suitcase. Run out of the terminal and back to the shuttle to go back to Terminal D.

Step Ten: Check in, check your bag, go through security, wonder if they will notice that your passport was issued earlier that day, feel a little worried about how security works that they do not notice, and get to your gate, 12 minutes before boarding begins. Get on the plane and go to Madrid.

Congratulations. You have a new passport.

Total cost: approximately 450$, four days, and a bit of your sanity.

I've Already Fled the Country, Now What?

As all of my readers (should) know, I live in Spain. I've lived here for more than three years. I have Spanish residency. Every year that I'm here, I think about going back to the United States. And for almost a year now, I have joked, or other people have joked with me, that if Trump wins the presidency, I probably won't go back.
Today is November 9th. Yesterday, Donald Trump became President-Elect of the United States of America. I woke up late this morning, have stayed up until almost 4am (10pm Eastern Time) trying to wait to see who would take Florida. Joaquín and I were watching a YouTube live feed of CNN and they kept repeating, "We still have to wait and see, there could still be a change, there could still be enough votes," even as the margin between them got bigger and bigger, favoring Trump. The CNN anchors did not want to believe, and that night, I didn't either. I woke up briefly around 8:30am (2:30am Eastern Time) the next morning, to see that google was reporting Trump having 266 out of the 270 electoral votes that he would need to win. I was too tired to react, and went back to sleep for a few more hours. Now, it's 12:30pm (some of my friends in the US will be waking up to get ready for work soon. We have a day off here), and Joaquín and I are eating breakfast. A few minutes ago, I cried in bed and he held me. He doesn't have the words to console me.
I face a terrible truth now, but I want to first express condolences and say, as an upper-middle class white cis-het woman, I enjoy privileges that many of my friends do not, and that countless people in the United States do not.
I am coming home for Christmas for the first time in four years, and I can afford to buy (most) of my very expensive plane ticket. For my friends who do not enjoy the privilege of financial security, I'm sorry. I'm sorry the American people have elected a president whose very win caused stocks to drop last night, and who does not care about your future.
To my friends who are black or a minority race, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that the American people have elected a president who the KKK has endorsed, who does not care about Black Lives, and who has made it clear he will not be an ally to any minority community. I'm sorry we've elected a president who is hell-bent on deporting immigrants even though our illegal immigration problem has declined in recent years, and who has made threats to stop all Muslim immigration into our country, spreading the ideas of xenophobia, racism, white-supremacy, and more while he's at it.
To my friends who are in the LGBTQ community, I'm sorry. I'm sorry the American people have elected a president and Vice President who are flat-out enemies of your community. A Vice President who, in his role as Governor of Indiana, tried to get state funding for Gay Conversion Therapy, and tried to pass a law allowing businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ customers. I'm sorry we've elected a president who will push to pass a similar law federally (It's the First Amendment Defense Act if you want to look it up). I'm sorry that some of the great progress we have made over the last eight years will be destroyed.
To my friends who are women... I'm sorry. I'm sorry the American people have elected a president who... I can't even list the number of offenses he has made against women. He's been accused of rape and assault, the infamous tape, he's made no plans to protect or further women's rights, he and his Vice President have just done so much harm and are going to do so much more. I'm sorry.

I've been scrolling through my Facebook feed all morning. And I've seen the usual posts of upset, disbelief, and horror, as well as the jokes and the posts about leaving the country. I also saw a friend post that we should remember that leaving the country is another privilege. The majority of the American people cannot leave (either for financial reasons or because it is just not as easy as walking across the Canadian border, despite what some may think). In the Facebook groups I am a part of in Spain, people are frantically posting about how to achieve Spanish residency, and I am certain they mean to accomplish this. I am lucky to have such residency.
Here's where I start talking more about myself again. As many jokes as I've made and thoughts I've had about this exact situation, I'm still drawn back. I'm drawn back to the US particularly right now because my grandma is in poor health that just keeps getting worse. But I've been pulled back honestly since day one. My family is there, many of my friends are there, and frankly, my heart is still there, at least in part. But the logic stands that Spain is better in almost every way. Here, I have access to public health care. Gun violence is almost non-existent, gay marriage was legalized more than ten years ago, etc. Spain has a lot of problems, and many people probably see them as just as bad as those in the US, but I really can't understand how. They're different problems, certainly, but not like the US, not even remotely.
The fact is that I can't really relate to many of the posts I see on my Facebook feed right now. About how we need to come together and work harder to make things right. About how we need to do our part, struggle through, and prevail. I voted, even from here, but my life is here right now. I can't protect my friends or family that need it, and I can't see how we will be able to do anything with a red country, a Republican President, Vice President, Senate, and House, and soon, Supreme Court.
I know that the world still turns. I know that life goes on, but right now I'm scared for my country, and I'm scared for my own future. People here are shocked. They didn't believe Brexit could happen, but it did. When that occurred, I had my first thought that Trump could win. I am sick to my stomach realizing this new reality. I don't really remember what it was like when Bush became president. I was too young and I didn't really understand the consequences, but I have heard many people talk about how this is ten times worse than Bush was. The fact, it seems to me, is that America is broken. Maybe such an extreme showcase of that fact will be the jump-start we need to begin fixing it. Or maybe America is just broken, now for good. I hope that isn't the case, but it's going to take a while for me to feel any differently. I haven't decided yet whether I could see myself even attempting to make a life in the US with Trump as president, but if I do it will be a decision not made lightly.

I'm sure many of the Americans here in Spain and around the world are struggling with this decision now, too. For some of them, last night may have made the decision for them, but I'm sure others are struggling like me, between their old home and their new one. Do I really want to be a person who turned from her country because of its president? I can see as well as anyone else that the votes were terribly close. Half of the country still believes in the ideals I hold dear to my heart. Half of the country is reeling, like me, at the result of this election. And half of the country will strive to work towards what needs to be done, for the next election, in two years, and for the next president, in four. I don't know for sure where my life is taking me right now, but I just want my friends and family to know that I'm "here" for them, even if I'm not actually there. The world feels your pain as strongly as you feel it.

PS: I didn't necessarily want to accomplish anything by writing this. Just venting, ranting, getting some feelings out.

Scratch Cold

Rascafría. So we had a puente (long weekend) in the middle of July. We did a lot around the house, but we also found some time to drive into the mountains and spend an afternoon sunbathing and swimming. First we tried going to one river, but it was completely dry,

 so we ate a picnic lunch there before driving to Las Presillas de Rascafría (the little dams of scratch cold). Great name, huh? It's just a part of a river that leads to a lake in the mountains, near a town named "Rascafría." At some point, people decided to make little dams in the river in a particular area, to create natural swimming pools. It was full of people, but the water definitely lived up to its name. It was cold!!

Considering how hot Madrid has been, it was a welcome relief. Recently, I haven't been sleeping well because it has been so hot, even at night. We keep the windows open, a fan running, and I even put an ice pack on sometimes. I am counting down the days til I get to the US and some air-conditioning.
 Speaking of counting down days... I have officially given my notice at my job. Things are beginning to change for me here. Now that I have pareja de hecho with Joaquín, I don't have to worry about a visa anymore (well, at least for the next five years). That means I can get "real people" jobs. As much as I have loved working at the academy, I need to find something with a better schedule (not coming home at 9:30pm will be so great!) and that pays a little more. I will really miss my coworkers, but it's necessary to find something new. So far, I have a few options. I have interviewed and gotten jobs with two companies, one with which I would teach "company classes" at a company in the north a few hours a week, and the other with which I would teach "drama classes" as an extracurricular activity at primary schools in the north, also a few hours a week. I'm also interviewing with a couple more companies to see if I can fill up my weekly schedule. Either way, once I get back from the US in September, things will be a little different for me!
Now, what's next? What's coming in the future? It's all a little vague for me right now.
I know that I want to teach, and I'm pretty sure I'd like to teach English, but I need to start figuring out how I want to go about doing that. I could probably keep doing what I'm doing perpetually, but I'd rather start trying to focus on figuring out exactly how I want to work. For example, I'd prefer to teach in a school rather than for a company. So if I want to do that, I need to become qualified as a teacher here, and that means going back to school, working out how to get my credits from college transferred, improving my Spanish, and applying for programs. But all of that has to wait until I actually figure out what I want to do.
(What do you mean you haven't figured out what you want to do with your life yet, Katrina? You're 26!) What do you think I've been doing kicking around Spain? AVOIDING ADULTHOODDDD.
Anyway, the only other thing is to update you on the boyfriend and the cat. Joaquín has gotten a lovely job with a Spanish branch of an American company, and he sends me messages that his coworkers have sent the group in English which are hilarious and which prove English is soooo necessary in Spain right now. And Clio is getting bigger and hating this heat as much as we are. She still fits in the window, but I don't think she will much longer.

On that note, see (most of) you all stateside soon!

Update: I forgot, I'm also in a play! Well, we haven't started rehearsals yet, but I'm a very small part in Romeo and Juliet (and I'm also helping with costumes). Yay theatre!
Update Two: I have been informed that Rascafría does not in fact mean "scratch cold" but rather "super-duper cold cold." 

Bilbo (Bilbao), Donosti (San Sebastian), Gasteiz (Vitoria)

Kaixo! Ongi etorri! (Hello! Welcome!)
Last weekend, there was a holiday in Madrid (San Isidro), so Joaquín and I decided to drive up to the Basque country and spend some time there. I had never been, though he had been to Bilbao and Vitoria before. We were lucky enough to be able to stay a friend's apartment in Vitoria, though the apartment is no longer in regular use.
We drove up to Vitoria Saturday morning, and almost as soon as we crossed the border from Madrid to Castilla-León, the fog rolled in and the sky was cloudy from then on. We dropped our bags off in Vitoria and headed to Bilbao. It was still cloudy, but through it threatened to rain, it never did. We walked around the center of Bilbao. We had lunch at a fantastic little restaurant that was really busy, and rightfully so, because the food was great. We obviously walked by the Guggenheim (though we didn't go into the museum... mostly because it cost a lot), but the building itself is truly a sight to see. We were not lucky enough to see the famous puppy, as it was being readied for summer.

After that, we drove up to Gaztelugatxe. This was the thing I absolutely insisted on seeing when we were here. I had heard about it and knew I had to go. San Juan de Gaztelugatxe is a monastery build on a tiny islet to the north of Bilbao, only accessible by walking about an hour down the side of a mountain to the coast of the Cantabrian Sea. (I say it's only accessible by foot, mostly because the entire time we were there, there was a van trying to make it back up the mountain side, and failing miserably... so while there is a road, it isn't exactly smart to use). The monastery is at the top of the islet's peak, more than 200 old steps up. Most of the way, if you weren't on the stairs, you would have trouble not falling down the steep mountainsides and tumbling into the water.

This was our first view of the monastery. You can see it is extremely isolated! This hike took a lot out of us. I normally don't walk that far for that long and it was definitely strenuous, but I am so glad we made it. We even got to ring the church bell at the top! Here's a picture of us in front at a view point with the monastery in the background.

So, long day with lots of walking, but totally amazing experience! We drove back to Vitoria, got a quick, cheap dinner, and crashed.
The next day, we drove (I should say Joaquín drove and I sat and took pictures) to San Sebastián. It was also supposed to rain that day, but ended up being really sunny (which wasn't necessarily good because I didn't have sun screen!) We got to Sanse and walked around the old city for a while, and got lots of pintxos for lunch (tapas, basically, but they're called Pintxos and that's important). Most of the bars in the old city just had plates of pintxos and you got a plate and picked out three or four plus a drink, so you could eat a lot really cheaply, and get a lot of variety with it. I wasn't sure how I felt about seafood being left on a counter for an unknown period of time, though...
We finished lunch and decided to trek up Urgull, the hill on the east side of the bay at the top of which is a castle. It takes a bit to get there, but it has beautiful views of the city. Sanse is this city that's right next to a sheltered bay, with a beach and beautiful hills around it. The old city is all under the view of this castle on a hill, but the rest of the city reaches a ways around.

Here you can see part of the city next to the water. The old city is to the left, mostly hidden by trees. You can see how it's super cloudy in the distance, but where we are is really sunny. Once we made it to the top, we asked a girl to take a picture for us.

We admired the view for a bit and headed back down. We walked back through the old city to the other side of the bay, just to see it, and stopped in a museum with a bunch of paintings by Gonzalo Chillida. (Very confusingly, there are two Chillida artists famous in Sanse, brothers, but obviously famous in the Basque country for different things, and that's too many Chillida artists in my opinion).
After that, we took a bus (because we had done a lot of walking) a few stops to get to the other side of the bay, and we took a San-Fran style cable car up to the top of the other mountain. At the top of this mountain, there are amusement park rides. We only rode one, a little river-boat ride, mostly because it honestly felt like you were about to fall out of the boat and into the ocean. This is the view from one point in that ride...

So from this picture, you can see the castle on top of the hill that we were on earlier, the old city to the right of that, and a bit of the beach (as well as the land mass that makes the water of the bay so calm!) Finally, we took the cable car back down, walked along the beach back to the car.

We drove back to Vitoria and had (a shitty) dinner but I was too tired to care at that point, and crashed that night, too.

The last day, we stuck around Vitoria for the day. It was cloudy, but it never rained. We walked around the city center, seeing the cathedral, museums, and various other old buildings. There were a lot of walls with beautiful murals painted on them. We also saw this deep well where, in the past, people had packed snow down during the winter so that they'd be able to have ice in the summer.

We had lunch at a really great restaurant where for 12 euros each we ate two courses, got bottles of water, a bottle of wine, and dessert, so that was amazing. Then, to end our time there, we went out to this wetland natural reserve and walked around for a little bit. That was beautiful!

Finally, it was time to go home, so we drove back through the mountains (to avoid the toll roads) and got home that evening. We were exhausted, but everything about the Basque country was so worth it! It was beautiful!

One last bit before I finish... none of these pictures or what I talk about can capture the disparity of the Basque country. It really is a different country. The people there conversationally use Basque, and all the signs are in both Basque and Spanish. There are signs on every building and in every town promoting the independence of the Basque country from Spain, and it feels pretty intense. As beautiful as everything was, I couldn't help but have that all in my mind while we were there. The politics behind it is very divided, so it was really interesting to notice all the ways they both rebel against Spain, and are a part of it, too. Anyway, I just thought I'd share my thoughts on that!
Thanks for reading! Agur! (Goodbye!)

Salamanca Provides

We had a long weekend last weekend, so Joaquín and I decided to go somewhere, but he had a conference all day Saturday, so we had to stick close to home.
I ended up taking a train for my friend Steve's house in Avila, to the west of Madrid. I had been to Avila before, but I wanted to hang out with him. It was actually a pretty great visit. We played cards and walked around the town (Avila still has an intact wall surrounding the old city, with some great views), and just caught up. I hadn't seen him in a while, so it was really great.
Joaquín came to pick me up Sunday morning and we drove the rest of the way to Salamanca (another hour away from Madrid). Salamanca, has Spain's oldest university, as well as a dual-cathedral thing going for it. It's a beautiful city.
We got to Salamanca around lunch time, dropped our things off at our airbnb (a ridiculous house on the edge of town) and walked to a street our host said had a lot of bars with tapas. We stopped at an Asturian bar and got Sidra and pinchos (and the bartender poured the Sidra the traditional Asturian way, which, since I've never been to Asturias, I did not know about. It was so cool!).
So we went from lunch to Plaza Mayor (which was scarily reminiscent of the plaza mayor in Madrid... it felt like I was in the same place). We walked around the old part of town for a bit, some of which the streets were covered in sand and hay for the filming of a TV show (Still Star Crossed). It was really cool because it made it seem like we were in medieval times a bit. We went to the cathedral and climbed up the tower, taking pictures of the views along the way.

After that, we walked to see "The Facade." So, because Salamanca University is so old, the main buildings are stone and the facade of the university is renowned throughout Spain. (Recently, I had a class of students try to come up with the 7 Wonders of Spain, and a lot of them wanted to put the Facade on the list). It's famous, but not just because it's a beautiful facade. It's mostly famous for the frog. On one part of the facade, someone carved some skulls and on one of the skulls, there's a frog. It's not there for any reason. It has nothing to do with the rest of the theme of the Facade. But it's there, and it is basically the mascot of Salamanca.

But that isn't even the only weird thing carved into facades in Salamanca. In the facade of the new cathedral, somebody carved an astronaut.

So Salamanca has some weird facade stuff going on.
After we saw the facade, we walked around to find somewhere to get coffee, then we went to this garden. There's a book written entirely as dialogue in 1499 called "La Celestina" or "The Tragicomedy of Calixto and Melibea," and a garden in Salamanca features prominently in the book (it's the place with Calixto and Melibea do the nasty out of wedlock!) Well, it's a very lovely garden, El Huerto de Calixto y Melibea.

After that, we crossed the Roman bridge and looked at the town from across the river, then we walked back and got dinner at "La Mandala."
The next day (Monday, May 2) we checked out of the airbnb and drove to the old town to rent some bikes and bikes around for a while. So this is when the crazy shit went down. We parked the car and started walking to the bike rental place. We saw the vans for filming the tv show and, on a whim, decided to walk over and see if anything interesting was happening. There were a few people around, but we were the only ones not part of the production. Then, a van pulls up and we speculated there were actors inside... and there were! Three actors got out in medieval clothes and then I recognized one of them... it was Giles! Anthony Stewart Head, who played Giles in Buffy and of course I LOVE Buffy. They all started walking into the cathedral and I thought "well, it was cool to have seen him," but then he turned around and walked back to the van. I guess he needed the driver to get something, but either way, Joaquín waved and said "Could we take a picture with you?" He asked us to wait a moment while he talked to the driver, then walked over (like five feet), and we took a picture! I still can't believe it happened!

After that miracle, we rented our bikes and biked around for a couple hours. We biked along the river first, then decided to bike in the country a bit, from Salamanca to a small town 3 kilometers away. It was right in the fields and we saw a herd of sheep, so that was really lovely.

We biked back to the river and ate lunch at a bar on the banks. After that, we returned the bikes, drove back to Avila, and hung out with Steve again before driving the rest of the way back to Madrid. And of course, Clio was very excited when we got back (she was also very curious about my backpack).

Hooray for Everything!

Over the past few months, I've been rather busy.
My sister Michelle came to visit us for a week, I was in my dad's wedding, I was in a musical, and all that with a job and a boyfriend and a cat.
So for starters, Michelle's visit was so great! We had a ton of fun and she was a joy to have stay with us. I still had to work in the evenings, but she managed to use that time to go around all the museums that I've seen too many times already, so it worked out. Over the week, we went to all the best places in Madrid, plus a couple that I haven't seen before. I took her to Aranjuez, which is supposed to be beautiful in the spring. It was still a little wintry, so flowers hadn't quite started blooming yet, but it was an interesting visit. I'm really glad she got to come and see me.
Once Michelle left, I only had a couple of weeks before I had to go to the US. Those were stressful weeks! Getting all my papers in order and turning in documents for my new residency card (which will be valid for 5 years) was a pain, especially with all the bureaucracy in the Spanish government, but I just had to buckle down and get it done... and I did! I don't have the card yet, but I will very soon and that is beyond exciting. Not having to worry about how I'm going to stay and work legally in Spain for 5 years (even if we don't stay here that whole time) is a huge relief.
Right before I took my vacation, Joaquín and I had just enough time to go to the mountains for a day. We drove out to an area called El Atazar, which is a large reservoir in La Sierras, had lunch in a small mountain town, and just walked around and enjoyed the scenery. It was a definitely needed time away from the city, even for just a few hours.  
I left for the US at the end of March. I only got to spend a week there, but what a week! Not only was I a part of my dad's wedding, I also got to see a bunch of cousins and relatives, hangout with my best friends and sister, and meet Casey's son Saxon, seeing my grandparents, all so exciting! But being in the US again, with a car (thanks to Aunt Karen) reminded me of a lot of thing I did not miss. I really hated having to drive everywhere (when in Spain I can take the metro or trains). But, I also really missed all the grass we have in Missouri. Even in springtime, Spain's landscape is not green the same way as MO.
By the time I got back, I needed another vacation from my vacation. But of course, the musical was fast approaching. We were having dress rehearsals and getting ready for it like crazy. It ended up being a great success, despite all the obstacles (for example, I didn't get to sing my duets, because my duet partner left the show and we couldn't replace him), but even with all the drama (in theatre? no way!) it was a really fun show. I made a bunch of friends, and I can't wait to do it again soon. 
We have a couple of long weekends coming up, so Joaquín and I have to decide what to do and where to go. Until next time!

New year. New you.

So! January went very well! Joaquín and I are getting our pareja de hecho certificate on February 17th, so we've turned in all our paperwork for it.

The weather has been really nice, only a few days of rain, and the last few days have almost made it up to 60 degrees. 

I auditioned for a musical with an English theatre troop called Madrid Players, and the musical is Hooray for Hollywood (a creation of the director, Anne). And I got a part! I don't know which part yet, but I know there are lots of little parts, so that will be good. Rehearsals will sometimes conflict with my work schedule, but my boss has been really good about working around that. It feels really good to be involved with theatre again! I'm also going to help them with costumes, which brings me to my next piece of news...

I'm also starting a sewing class! I bought a sewing machine on wallapop (an app similar to craigslist) and joined a crafts group on facebook. People expressed interest in attending a sewing class and I thought, hey, I can sew, and I've helped teach people how to sew before in college, I could teach a class! I'm excited to be sewing again, too! I really feel like I'm turning over a new leaf in terms of my life here in Spain. I'm not just "living abroad for a year" or whatever, I'm actually living here, and having a cat, being involved with theatre, and sewing all help cement that for me. 

Joaquín and I went to a bar concert last weekend where some of our friends were playing the music, and other friends were watching. We go out about once a week. A couple weeks ago, we went to a tapas festival in el barrio de las letras with our friends Trish and Emilio, so that was fun, too!

Other than that, Clio has taken over my life. As I only work in the evenings, I get to spend all morning watching her sleep or playing with her. I'm sure most of you are tired of pictures of her, too, but that won't be stopping any time soon. Joaquín and I are both pretty obsessed with her.
I also have some good news. Some of you probably know I've been taking Zoloft for years now, and with the help of my therapist here, I've decided to stop taking it. I'm posting this now because it took the whole month of January to ween myself off, and I've been off for almost a week now. And the good news is that I feel great. I'm really excited not to have to take this medicine anymore. If I feel that I need to start again, it's always an option, but I feel like I'm in a great place mentally and emotionally, and that I have a good support network here as well.
So a lot of things are changing right now, and basically all of them are changing for the better. Whee!